There’s so much new music being released in the modern world, it’s become all too easy to miss the good stuff. This fact hasn’t escaped The Morning Line. Their 2026 release ‘Stars’ provides a handy recap of the best bits of the San Franciscan band’s catalogue, even stretching as far as including a couple of the year’s singles. It’s more than a standard compilation, though; for those who’ve been on board for a while, there’s still interest, since ‘Stars’ goes to the effort of remixing some of the previously released stuff to bring it up to scratch. With that in mind, and whichever way you look at it, ‘Stars’ has all the makings of a career defining disc, showcasing a superb blend of college rock, power pop and other retro sounds.
This extensive journey begins with ‘Anhedonia (Start Again)’, originally found on 2019’s ‘North’. The very 90s inspired rock riffs that run through the heart of the number whip up some some fantastic nostalgic qualities with sounds that throw bits of Better Than Ezra and Soul Asylum into the wind, greeting the listener with a world of chiming guitars against a steady four-four beat. It isn’t an especially flashy number by any means, but between a hugely user-friendly vocal and more muted chords than you could shake a stick at, its revivalist sound is hugely appealing, and if it just happens to be your first listen to The Northern Line, it should be catchy enough to make you want to hear more. A new version of ‘Spellbound’ sounds much bigger, capturing a great unity between the bass and guitar, showcasing a simple descending riff against a very 90s groove. Again, the ghosts of the underrated Better Than Ezra can be found here, but the confidence in Stephen Smith’s vocal gives The Morning Line enough of their own charm to sound like more than a band looking to the past.
A massive throwback to the band’s 2007 debut, ‘Everybody Else Does’ supplies a solid mix of roots rock and Americana, all chiming guitars and relaxed vocals. What the song’s arrangement lacks in complexities, it makes up for with pure melodic charms, with Stephen’s vocal sounding great against Brian Mello’s unfussy guitar work. The remixed version that appears here brings out the bass properly for the first time, giving the number a warmth that parts of the debut lacked, purely through budgetary constraints. Fans will certainly enjoy hearing this number the way it was clearly meant to be heard, and the same goes for the quieter ‘Jet Set Stars’ which appears to present a slightly better mix, without losing the DIY spirit of the original cut. With influences from The Connells and Toad The Wet Sprocket powering a great sound, this is another brilliant throwback to the 90s, with some fine harmonies propping up a simple but effective hook. A lot of The Morning Line’s future greatness can already be heard here.
If those tracks sound retro, then the band go all out in the old school stakes on the slightly softer ‘All Mine’, where a melodic college rock arrangement is occasionally peppered by Byrds-esque guitar work, before a soaring vocal lifts the middle eight in a way that feels a little more power pop-centric. This mightn’t be quite as immediate as some of The Morning Line’s best songs, but with another great vocal and a superb drum part, it’s certainly going to be reappraised when people rediscover it as part of this rather cool collection. The semi-acoustic angle works better on ‘Stars To Me’, a track that blends roots rock and power pop, cheekily hints at the vocal melody from The Gin Blossoms’ ‘Till I Hear It From You’, and latterly drops in a very light lead guitar break, using bright sounding notes to lift the mood, but without upstaging Smith’s decidedly relaxed vocal.
The much newer ‘90s Pickup’ opens with a couple of huge sounding chords falling somewhere between The Connells and early Matchbox Twenty in terms of overall feel and tone, but the swift arrival of a clean jangle really seals the deal. Within about three bars, the band hit upon a brand of retro pop rock/power pop that’s overflowing with love and nostalgia, but it’s a clean, slightly rootsy vocal really sells a great melody. Having caught their audience’s attention, things escalate quickly, firstly with a pre-chorus that stokes up the rootsy edge with the help of a softly applied slide guitar sound, but really hitting peak on a great power pop infused chorus where a more harmonic vocal takes centre stage. The Morning Line aren’t content with letting things settle there, though: a very melodic middle eight adds a great key change and an extra dose of melody, ensuring that those who already like this track will soon love it. Chorus wise, things aren’t perhaps quite as direct as the verse deserved, but in terms of overall melody and feel, this is top tier Morning Line fare.
‘This Lens’, by contrast, is slightly more of a slow burner. The mid tempo arrangement makes great use of an acoustic-electric blend, and the way punchy bass notes are allowed to take the lead gives a simple melody a great lift. A little less Soul Asylum and a lot more Edward O’Connell/Pete Droge influenced, there’s a pleasing power pop/Americana fusion at work, which consistently makes the best of Mello’s guitar work, but also brings out a little more of a richness in Smith’s natural vocal. Looking a little deeper, however, a lack of obvious immediate chorus hook means the music is left to do a little more of the heavy lifting, before a huge sounding middle eight finally unleashes the song’s most rousing melody. Arrangement-wise, this makes ‘This Lens’ feel a little uneven, but it’s almost guaranteed that extant Morning Line fans will love what they hear.
A standout cut from 2022’s ‘Scene’, ‘Back On Earth’ sticks to a tried and tested Soul Asylum meets Kevin Salem jangling, but avoids sounding like a direct rehash of earlier Morning Line tracks by applying a musical canvas that’s somehow broader yet more restrained, if that makes sense. Although the vocals and main melody are great, and the moment where the drums kick in belatedly is potentially greater, the track’s crowning glory comes from Mello adopting a descending 50s twang and having that underscored by a really soft glockenspiel for a slightly cinematic feel. ‘Nostradamus’, meanwhile, is a full blast, full speed 80s college rocker that feels nostalgic in a slightly different way, but shows of the talents within The Morning Line just as well. Smith’s vocals drop somewhere between Elvis Costello and Dave Pirner; the music tears through a full one minute forty nine at full pace, never looking back…and the result is genuinely great. It shows how effortlessly the band can rock, even though the bulk of their material rests upon a slower and often far more melodic quality.
Elsewhere, ‘1982’ is a track that often sounds like something from 1982, only played a bit more aggressively. The slightly nasal qualities of Smith’s voice suit the song perfectly and the sharp rhythms and chiming guitars represent perfect power pop. When augmented by new romantic synths, this results in something that could be an instant classic. For lovers of early Matthew Sweet it’s a must-hear, especially since it’s a number that’s sharp enough to have you singing by the end of the first play. Another standout from ‘North’, ‘Tripwire’s use of reverbed guitars and a steady drum beat awakens memories of the film score for ‘Red Rock West’, and while at first it might seem like you’re about to hear something that sounds like Chris Isaak in a bad mood, once the pieces fall into place, it sounds more like a very deep cut from Neil Young & Crazy Horse. Smith’s slightly lazy vocal compliments the slightly distorted guitars; the slow pace appears to bring ‘Cortez The Killer’ into more of a modern age and, eventually, a howling backing vocal accentuates the feeling of being lost in a vast expanse of desert. The only drawback is the use of keys where a full string arrangement should’ve been, but not everyone has the necessary budget for such an extravagance. What’s most obvious – and important – regarding this song’s inclusion within this anthology is that it shows how, although The Morning Line have a definite musical comfort zone, they sound equally strong when pushing themselves, or allowing themselves to branch out.
The acoustic angle has always been an important part of the Morning Line sound, and that’s brilliantly represented here by ‘Last One of The Losers’, an introspective and downbeat strummer that allows Smith to adopt a more forlorn vocal on a track that has more of an organic quality thanks to its minimalist rhythm section and hushed tones, and the slightly spooky ‘Grand Ave.’ – another number that appeared in its original form on 2007’s ‘Stay My Satellite’ – which almost opts for more of a cosmic folk angle, without ever losing sight of the Morning Line spirit. Naturally, these are numbers that mightn’t stand out for the first time listener, but over time, their deep and heartfelt qualities have the potential to win over a devoted audience.
With twenty one tracks providing a decent overview of a hard-working act’s time within the underground of the US rock scene, ‘Stars’ provides excellent value. If you’ve not yet had the listening pleasure, this is worth the price of a download for ‘Stars To Me’, ‘Back On Earth’, ‘90s Pickup’, ‘Everybody Else Does’ and ‘1982’, but as anthologies go, it’s all good to great, with very little filler. For the novice or the fan – but especially the novice – this is a recommended listen.
July 2026
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